The present invention relates generally to a printed circuit board connector and, more particularly, to such a connector wherein the pattern, and spacing, of the printed circuit board engaging sections of the contacts are different than that of the wire-wrap posts of the connector.
In printed circuit board connectors employing contacts having wire-wrap posts, the posts must be arranged in a certain grid pattern which allows the posts to be wire-wrapped by standard machinery. However, printed circuit boards have recently been introduced having conductive pads on the edges thereof which have a spacing differing from the pattern of the wire-wrap posts of the connectors. For example, the conductive pad spacing may be 0.062 inch while a typical spacing for wire-wrap posts is 0.125 inch. While complex stamped and formed contacts could be utilized in the connectors to achieve the required close spacing of the contacting sections of the contacts for engaging the pads on the printed circuit board, this is not a practical solution due to the cost of manufacture of such contacts and the thickness of the transverse insulator walls of the connector housing which are required to isolate the contacts from each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,803 to Cooney discloses a printed circuit board connector having some features broadly similar to the present invention in which the lower portions of contacts in a printed circuit board connector are arranged in four rows whereas the contacting sections of the contacts are arranged in two coplanar rows on opposite sides of the printed circuit board receiving slot in the connector housing. The lower portions of the contacts are transversely aligned. The contacts require a very complex structure which allows the contacting sections of the contacts to be longitudinally adjacent to each other for engaging the printed circuit board. Cooney does not teach an arrangement wherein the longitudinal spacing of the contacting sections of the contacts is sufficiently close to engage the high density conductive pads on the edge of those printed circuit boards having a spacing of 0.062 inch.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a printed circuit board connector utilizing relatively simple contacts which are inexpensive to manufacture, and in which the contacts are arranged so that the posts thereof are in a pattern suitable for wire-wrapping, yet the contacting sections of the contacts are disposed in a different pattern and sufficiently close to engage very closely spaced conductive pads on the edge of a printed circuit board.